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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28921869">Sk8r Boi</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashFoot/pseuds/TrashFoot'>TrashFoot</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Linkin Park</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crushes, First Kiss, M/M, Skateboarding, nothing further beyond that and, well their first kiss between each other anyways</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:49:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,491</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28921869</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashFoot/pseuds/TrashFoot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Braz (Chester/Brad) fic where Brad wants to become a cool, tough, edgy skateboarder, and meets one- a cute one- at the skate park. A oneshot that went overboard and has been split up into two chapters.</p>
<p>Inspired by a piece of Bennoda-related art that doesn't even include Brad in it, which is for a fic that I'll probably never read (due to access limitations), no matter how much I want to read it.</p>
<p>This work was inspired by 1weak's art called "Double Kickflip color", which can be viewed here: https://www.deviantart.com/1weak/art/Double-Kickflip-color-132252808</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chester Bennington/Brad Delson</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After months of begging, Brad’s mom got him a skateboard. She gave it to him early, too; she was going to wait until Chanukah to give it to him, but he seemed so eager, so excited, she gave it to him for his birthday instead. He spent the remainder of the winter practicing on it, learning the basics on his own whenever he got the chance. This came with his mother buying additional padding and a helmet, fussing over not wanting to see her little boy get hurt. He was 16, he fought back, assuring her that he could handle himself. He still wore the pads and helmet anyways, just in case.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last day of school came, and the first day of summer came the next day, as did a big step in Brad’s personal journey towards a new life as a cool, edgy, and tough skateboarder: his first trip to the skate park. He could push himself around and handle the slightest of inclines by this point, but had never dropped in on any kind of bowl or ramp before. He knew what he was getting into and had an air of confidence to go along with it, though; he had watched Tony Hawk’s tutorial video on dropping in plenty of times by now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But his confidence didn’t seem to stick around when he got to the park. It seemed to check itself at the gated opening in the tall, chain link fence. He was happy to see that it was just him and one other boy there, though, so if he was going to embarrass himself, he would do it in front of some other kid he didn’t know and probably would never see again. Getting to the lip of the concrete pool, he adjusted his helmet one last time and exhaled, something about making sure his helmet was still strapped to his head hoped to inspire his confidence to come back to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He must’ve been standing there too long, breathing loud, nervous breaths, as the other boy approached him. He looked like he was built with lanky muscle, had black, thick-framed glasses, and had the tattoos on his arms on display as he wore a black tank top and forest green cargo pants. Sunlight briefly bounced off his lip ring.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“First time dropping in?” The other boy asked. Brad glanced over at him with a side-eye before turning his attention back to the obstacle in front of him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, y-yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re probably not gonna get it down on your first try.” He told him. “But that’s okay. We all gotta start somewhere right? Just, keep your knees slightly bent and follow through.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what’s your name?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Brad said automatically, not thinking about the question until after he answered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-I mean, Brad. It’s Brad.” He stuttered, a blush reddening his cheeks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, Brad, that’s certainly a better name than ‘Yeah.’ Mine’s Chester. I’ll be over there if you need me. And, uh, don’t worry,” he said, placing a bony hand on his own bony shoulder, “if you fall, I won’t be judging. We all fall sometimes.” It took Brad a little while before the voice in his head yelled at him to “just go” enough times to convince him to do just that. He placed his foot at the top of the board, pushed down on it, went straight down, and as the vertical wall curved and straightened out, Brad didn’t. He crumpled into the flat ground, once again glad his concerned mother bought him and made him wear his padding. Of course, he could only be so glad for so much when he was in pain like he was. Chester was back at his side in a moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, man, you good? Brad?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.” He said through gritted teeth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“C’mon, up.” Chester said, offering his hand. “Let’s go get your board and try again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And that’s what the pair spent the day doing. Brad would fall, Chester would help him back up. Chester would give him pointers, gently telling him where and how to improve. Before either of them knew it, the sun was setting, and Brad had five missed calls from his mom. He called her back as soon as possible, and was told to come home for dinner. He bid farewell to his new friend, both boys saying that they would “see you later,” hoping that the other was telling the truth.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tbh this whole fic was also half-inspired by a prompt, I got so into writing it I managed to forget about the prompt entirely lol. It doesn't matter here though, I guess, because in this chapter they share their first kiss.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Throughout the summer, Brad was there. As often as he could be, he was practicing at the skatepark. And every time, without fail, Chester was there too. It was almost like he lived there. By mid-July, they were already close friends. Brad knew enough about Chester, like how he was 17, the meanings behind some of his tattoos, how he smoked cigarettes on occasion. But he wanted to know more, and he think he knew why. The fluttering in his heart during certain moments told him all he needed to know.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was happy to have mastered dropping in by this point, the movement coming naturally to him now. Chester also wasted what little patience he tended to have on Brad, teaching him simple, basic tricks. Brad was nothing but grateful for Chester’s presence in his life, occasionally using what allowance money he had on hand buying them both food at whatever fast food joint they felt like going to that day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Brad,”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Brad asked, looking up from his burger at the boy sitting across the booth’s table from him. A fry hit him just underneath his right eye before he could even see it coming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ha!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Brad scowled at him before throwing the fry back at him, missing, and watched it soar past his head. This made a genuine belly laugh rise out of Chester. Despite his slight embarrassment, Brad was happy to have at least make him laugh. Brad had grown to enjoy his devilish smile. It made him seem angelic. “Dude, that was my last fry!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then maybe you shouldn’t have thrown it at me, idiot. Now let me finish my burger.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I’m still hungry.” Chester whined.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here,” Brad pushed his half empty box of chicken nuggets towards him, “have these.” The pair finished the remainder of their meal in silence. After Chester got up and threw out their food, he asked,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, you ready to go?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep.” Brad said, grabbing their skateboards and passing Chester’s to him. Outside of the building, Chester had Brad stop at the corner of the block so he could smoke a cigarette. Chester held his board in his free hand, setting an end on the ground as Brad wrapped his arms around his, hugging it. The sun was setting, and the streetlights were turning on. Brad knew he had to get home sooner rather than later, but he was distracted tonight by the way Chester’s eyes were twinkling behind his glasses.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Chester asked, snapping Brad back to reality.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, n-nothing...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bull; it’s not nothing. What is it?” Chester asked, obviously trying to test Brad. Brad’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape, but no sound came out. He couldn’t look at Chester any longer, so he looked down to the ground instead. Brad could feel the silence speaking for him, but he couldn’t hear the words it was telling Chester. He just hoped it wasn’t the truth. Brad felt a hand lift his chin up, bringing his eyes to meet Chester’s. “Hey, look at me.” He said in a gentler tone, his cigarette still burning in his other hand. “What is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I...” Brad shook his head no, “I don’t wanna say...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t want to? Or you’re too scared to?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...Too scared.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“C’mon, man, it’s me. You can tell me anything.” Brad didn’t speak for a moment, getting lost in Chester's eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I... think...” he wanted to trail off, but the heaviness of the moment became too real for him to handle anymore, so he continued what he had to say quickly. “I think I’ve got a crush on you. I’m sorry, I— I can— I’m gonna, gotta—” Brad was quieted by a pair of lips crashing into his. Chester pulled away, looking deep into Brad’s eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was that okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah...” Brad said, floating back down to reality.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright then. C’mon,” Chester moved his hand from Brad’s face and held it out as an offering for Brad to hold it, “let’s go.” It took Brad a moment to realize just what was happening, but he took Chester’s hand in his and started walking with him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, where are we going?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I dunno... skate park?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How ‘bout we head back to my place? You could sleep over.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your folks would be cool with that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. They’ve been dying to meet you anyways. Plus, we could make out after they go to bed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn, I’m good with that,” Chester agreed, letting out a small laugh.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Btw, Chester ‘practically lives at the skate park’ because he’d rather be there than at home. Also, part of this chapter was inspired by this picture: https://sxdrexlm.tumblr.com/post/614328104429682688</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Putting this here again just in case:<br/>This work was inspired by 1weak's art called "Double Kickflip color", which can be viewed here: https://www.deviantart.com/1weak/art/Double-Kickflip-color-132252808</p></blockquote></div></div>
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